World Changing Women, Day 4

Not Afraid to Die

Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554)

"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Philippians 1:21

When Jane was nine, she was sent from her family to live with the Dowager Queen, Queen Katherine, to learn how to be a queen. Jane was very happy living with Queen Katherine and learning from her much more than just how to be queen. She learned to be a Protestant and loved God more than anything. In 1548, when Jane was ten years old, Queen Katherine died a few days after her daughter was born. Sad and heartbroken, little Jane was sent home to her parents and sisters. Jane was very unhappy at home, though she did love her little sisters, Mary and Catherine. When king Henry Vll died six years later, he wanted Jane to be queen if his children had no children. Guildford, the son of an important man named Dudley, was married to Jane, though she did not love him. King Henry's son, Edward, died, and Dudley pronounced Jane queen. Jane asked God to help her rule England well, but only nine days after Jane was proclaimed queen, Mary, king Henry's oldest child, took the throne, and Jane found herself a prisoner. Two months after Jane had been crowned queen, in mid-September, she was put on trial. She was sentenced to death, but Mary waited until February of 1554, giving Jane chance after chance to deny the faith and become Roman Catholic. Jane was not afraid to die and was beheaded for her faith.